Exports of liquefied natural gas from the US won't solve the EU’s energy security problems, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said after the G7 meeting in Brussels.

Barroso said US
President Barack Obama expressed readiness to increase the supply
of natural gas to the EU at the March summit in Brussels, however
the two leaders did not discuss the matter at their Thursday
meeting in the framework of the G7.

This process will take a certain amount of time, the European
Commission President said stressing the EU cannot create “the
illusion that gas from the US is going to solve our
problems.”

EU energy security has become a key issue amid the developing
crisis in Ukraine. As a result of Kiev's substantial gas debt to
Russia, the price for Ukraine was raised from $268.50 to $485.50
per 1,000 cubic meters in April after Russia cancelled two
discounts. Kiev authorities have been demanding Moscow lower the
rate, refusing to pay back the full debt until then.

Fifty percent of Europe’s gas supplies enter the continent via
Ukraine from Russian supply lines. Ukraine’s debt may lead to the
country’s failure of transit obligations and the reduction of gas
supplies to south-eastern Europe, said Russian Energy Minister
Alexander Novak in April.

The EC President wrote in a letter to Russian President Vladimir
Putin in May that Gazprom should stick to existing contracts with
Europe and gas supplies shouldn’t be interrupted.

“It … continues to be Gazprom’s responsibility to ensure the
deliveries of the required volumes as agreed in the supply
contracts with European companies,” Barroso wrote.

“In order to set up exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG),
infrastructure has to be created either side of the Atlantic, and
everyone understands that. This will take both, time and
money,” the Russian president told energy company executives
during an industry panel in St. Petersburg, which was hosting the
annual International Economic Forum.

Following the hydraulic fracturing boom in the US, which has seen
it overtake Russia as the world’s biggest gas producer,
Washington has reversed a long-standing restriction on gas
exports. Seven companies have been given permission to export so
far, and multiple LNG terminals, necessary for transporting gas
overseas, are being built, with dozens more awaiting the go-ahead
from regulators.

Despite the significance of the trend, it does not appear likely
the US will replace Russia in the intermediate term. In order to
do so the US would have to divert a quarter of its gas to Europe.
Meanwhile, its first facility does not even open until late next
year, with the majority of the first wave of LNG terminals
scheduled to come online between 2017 and 2020.